10 questions to know if your team is actually motivated

Motivation rarely disappears overnight. It fades through repeated friction: unclear priorities, invisible work, broken promises, missing feedback, or a feeling that nobody is paying attention.

Managers do not need to guess. The best place to notice motivation early is a consistent 1:1.

Ask before motivation becomes a crisis

If you only ask about motivation when someone is already exhausted, the conversation is harder. The person may have stopped believing anything will change.

Use your 1:1s to check smaller signals while there is still time to act.

Here are ten questions that help:

1. “What part of your work gives you the most energy right now?”
2. “What part drains more energy than it should?”
3. “Do you feel clear about what matters most this week?”
4. “Is there anything you are doing that feels pointless?”
5. “Where do you feel you are improving?”
6. “Where do you feel stuck?”
7. “Do you get enough feedback from me?”
8. “What should I notice more?”
9. “Is there a responsibility you would like to take on?”
10. “What would make work feel easier or more meaningful?”

You do not need to ask all ten at once. Pick two or three and let the answer lead the conversation.

Motivation is not only praise

Praise matters, but motivation is not built by cheerful words alone. People stay motivated when they understand why their work matters, have enough autonomy to do it well, and see that their progress is noticed.

That means a manager has to listen for more than mood. Listen for:

• Unclear priorities
• Work that has lost meaning
• Skills the person wants to use but cannot
• Repeated blockers
• A lack of ownership
• A lack of recognition

Those are practical problems. A good 1:1 should turn them into practical next steps.

Watch for patterns over time

One answer is useful. A pattern is much more useful.

If someone says once that they are tired, maybe they had a bad week. If they say it three meetings in a row, that is a signal. If several people mention the same unclear priority, that is no longer an individual problem. It is a team problem.

OTO’s reporting view is built around this idea: the same question asked over time can show whether a person, team, or topic is moving in the right direction.

End with something concrete

Motivation conversations can become vague if they end with “Let’s keep an eye on it.” That usually means nothing will happen.

End with a specific action:

• Clarify a priority.
• Remove a blocker.
• Give feedback.
• Make work visible.
• Offer a growth opportunity.
• Revisit workload next week.

People do not need every 1:1 to be inspiring. They need it to be useful. When the conversation leads to visible follow-up, motivation has a much better chance of surviving real work.

This article was adapted from an earlier Medium post by Grethel Vändrik: read the original.